Snow Emergency information coming to mailboxes

Minneapolis residents should watch their mail over the next several days for information that could help them avoid tickets and tows when snow season arrives. The City of Minneapolis is sending out about167,000 Snow Emergency brochures, one to each household in the city. The brochure will look familiar to residents acquainted with it from previous years and is updated with new graphics showing where to park during the three phases of a Snow Emergency.

Folks should hold on to the brochures throughout the winter and have them handy whenever a Snow Emergency is declared. The brochure contains the Snow Emergency parking rules and lists ways people can find out when the City of Minneapolis declares a Snow Emergency. The more people follow the Snow Emergency parking rules and help their neighbors do the same, the easier snow season is on everyone. A printable version of the brochure is available at www.minneapolismn.gov/snow.

Snow Emergencies are declared whenever there’s enough snowfall to warrant a complete plowing of our streets. To get that done, people need to follow the parking rules and move their vehicles so crews can plow full width. When the snow flies, City Public Works crews have enormous jobs to do, with more than 1,500 miles of streets, parkways and alleys that need to be cleared. It’s important for drivers to follow the Snow Emergency parking rules so plows can do the best job possible clearing snow. Vehicles parked on the street in violation of Snow Emergency rules can be ticketed or towed.

By reaching out to educate people about Snow Emergency parking rules, the City hopes that more drivers will avoid tickets and tows. Minneapolis spreads the word about Snow Emergencies by direct mail, emails, text messages, automated phone calls, the Internet and by working with the media.

Getting drivers to follow Snow Emergency parking rules helps the City, too. Snow Emergencies are not moneymakers for Minneapolis. Towing and impounding vehicles is expensive and makes plowing inefficient, so it’s in everyone’s interest to help drivers follow the parking rules and avoid a ticket and tow.

Stay informed

Residents, workers and visitors have a number of ways to learn when Snow Emergencies are declared and what to do when they are. We’re advising drivers to put many of these tools to use, not just one or two. The more ways people use to learn about a Snow Emergency, the more prepared they will be to do their part, and the less likely they will be to be towed because they didn’t know one was declared.

Hotline - By calling the automated 612-348-SNOW hotline, folks can find out if a Snow Emergency has been declared. The hotline will include information on that day’s parking restrictions that drivers need to follow to avoid tickets and tows. The hotline includes information in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong.

The City’s website - Go to www.minneapolismn.gov/snow to find out whether a Snow Emergency has been declared and for a wealth of information on Snow Emergencies in many languages. Also, check out the street lookup, which lets you put in an address or a neighborhood to see where you can park during a Snow Emergency.

Phone alerts - Minneapolis uses a phone alert system to notify residents when Snow Emergencies are declared. It is an automated notification system that can place thousands of calls per hour. You can add your cellphone or unlisted landline number to the alert system by signing up at www.minneapolismn.gov/snow.

Twitter - If you have a Twitter account, just follow us. Both the Twitter and Facebook pages will tell fans and followers when a Snow Emergency is declared.

A QR code in the mailed brochure makes it easier for people with smartphones to get Snow Emergency parking rules online.

Videos - Informative videos in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong are available online to help explain where you can park when a Snow Emergency is declared:

Minneapolis Snow Emergency Parking Rules (English) Find out where to park your car when a Snow Emergency is declared to avoid a ticket and a tow. Learn more in this edition of the Minneapolis "Did you know..." series.